The Two Guardians
by Corrupt TE
Summary: No one knows what being a Guardian is like, except maybe one.  BlazexKnuckles


**Ok, so this one has been on my harddrive for a while now just couldn't be asked to upload it til now.**

**As usual I own nothing of SEGA or the Sonic Team but one can dream.**

* * *

Knuckles threw the remains of Eggman's latest metallic creation off the edge of his floating island home. He watched them plummet away, swiftly shrinking in size before splashing into the clear blue of the ocean so many miles below.

Here he remained, arms folded across his chest, the wind lightly ruffling his fur and his dreadlocks swaying with the breeze.

He couldn't understand why that fat madman kept trying to steal the precious emeralds he was cursed to protect, but if he was honest, Knuckles didn't really care. Keeping Eggman and that annoying Batgirl away from the emeralds at least made his life a bit more interesting.

Nowadays however, Rouge rarely came around, and never to steal the Chaos emeralds. She had somehow convinced Shadow to marry her and they had recently become parents. Of course Knuckles was happy for them, but he couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his chest and a distinct feeling of loneliness whenever he saw them, or any of his friends for that matter.

Rouge had Shadow, Tails had Cream, Amy finally had Sonic, and Knuckles had… well... he had the Master Emerald.

His proud shoulders sagged and he trudged slowly back to his wall-less prison.

* * *

Blaze slammed the door and stalked away, leaving behind chard remnants of plywood.

"How can he be so naive!" She shouted to the night sky. She growled to herself as she let her feet guide her along the path.

She had known Silver for Sol knows how long, and no matter what she said or did, he couldn't get that she could never leave the Sol emeralds in the care of anyone else. She was the Guardian. He would never understand what that meant.

She suddenly realised where she was. She was standing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the wide blue ocean.

Blaze shuddered at the thought of all that water. She looked into the sky to see if any answers lay in the stars, but much of the night sky was taken up by an island, floating impossibly through the night sky.

Just over a year ago, Tails and Marine had perfected a device which would act as a stable gateway between their two dimensions. She and Silver had decided to live with their friends on one plain of existence instead of having to jump across every time a problem like the two Eggman's presented themselves.

"I know one person who knows what its like to be a Guardian." She said to herself. Summoning the power of the Sol emeralds, which she always kept with her, Blaze transformed into Burning Blaze and took off into the night sky.

* * *

Knuckles was lying against the Master Emerald, staring into the sky. Thick dark clouds were gathering, even as he watched. There would be rain tonight.

Sighing in frustration, he closed his eyes. The chirps of crickets and sounds of other nocturnal creatures sang out around him, mocking him with their joyful chorus.

His ears twitched. He focussed his hearing till all the sounds of nature faded to silence.

Crack!

His eyes flew open and Knuckles scrambled to his feet. He narrowed his eyes and glared into the forest in the direction of where the sound had come from. He leapt down the stone steps and took up a combat stance, clenching his fists and baring his teeth.

He had already dealt with Eggman today and he wasn't in the mood for another intruder coming after his emeralds.

What he didn't expect was a lavender cat appearing out of the undergrowth. Knuckles instantly recognised her and dropped out of his aggressive stance.

"Blaze?" She started, just noticing the red echidna standing in the darkness. "What are you doing here?"

Blaze looked at the Guardian for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. Despite having been raised in the Royal courts, Blaze had always been very awkward in social interactions.

"Knuckles, I uh… that is to say, um…" Knuckles stood their as patiently as he could.

"Why did you come here?" He asked, in a gentler tone than before.

Blaze looked down, away from his deep amethyst eyes, the green grass suddenly very interesting.

"I wanted to talk to someone who knew what it was like." She lifted her head and their eyes connected. "Being a Guardian."

Knuckles relaxed, his gaze softening. He walked slowly up to her and laid a giant hand on her shoulder.

"You and Silver have another fight?" Blaze nodded her head.

"He doesn't understand. It's the Guardians duty to protect the emeralds, no-one else's!" She closed her eyes, tears glistening around the edges. "It's my curse. No-one else should suffer it." As tears began to roll down her face, she felt a strong, warm embrace.

When he had noticed her crying, Knuckles didn't know what to do. So he did what he had seen Amy do whenever Cream was crying and drew Blaze closer, wrapping his arms around her.

"Silver and the others might not know what its like. But I do." He pulled away slightly to looked down into her glistening amber eyes and a strange feeling washed over him. She was beautiful.

Why hadn't he seen it before? They had so much in common. They were both Guardians, both lived with a curse, both socially inept, and the way she felt in his embrace was almost like she was meant to be there.

Blaze looked deeply into his eyes, feeling warm and happy, happier than she had been for a long time.

Wait a minute. Was she staring at him?

Blaze quickly looked away, feeling her cheeks burn red with embarrassment.

Knuckles cocked his head quizzically, a small smile appearing on his face. Using his right hand he gently lifted her chin.

Blaze's heart jumped at his gentle touch. She looked again into his eyes as his thumb softly caressed her cheek. The feeling was so natural, so comforting that she began nuzzling deeper into his embrace.

Just then a fat rain drop hit Knuckles on the head, followed by another, then another. The two Guardians looked up at the cloud filled sky as raindrops hammered down all around them.

Knuckles gripped Blaze by the hand and they began running towards the tree line. They stopped underneath the green canopy, the splashing water droplets echoing as they collided with the natural umbrella of the treetops.

Knuckles grinned as he looked over to Blaze. She was drenched. Her hair had gathered in long hanging clumps, and water droplets were steadily running down her face. But despite all that, her eyes still shone brightly, and a joyful laugh found its way to her lips.

Blaze grinned back at him and violently shook her head, spraying the already soaked echidna with even more water. In retaliation, a laughing Knuckles punched a nearby tree, showering them both in a downpour of gathered rainwater.

"Oh that's it!" Joked Blaze, and she tackled the red echidna to the ground.

Laughing like fools they rolled on the forest bed, coming to a stop with Knuckles on his back and Blaze on top of him.

They looked deeply into each others eyes and saw what both had been looking for their whole lives.

Silent now, Blaze stared down at the echidna trapped beneath her.

Slowly she lowered her head towards his until their lips were mere centimetres apart.

"You know," Breathed Knuckles. "I could help you protect them, the only way a Guardian can." Blaze pulled away and Knuckles silently cursed himself for opening his mouth.

"Knuckles, I couldn't let you do that. You've got too much respon-" Blaze was cut off as a gentle hand reached out and laid against her cheek. She closed her eyes and rubbed against his palm.

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't feel it was the right thing to do." Blaze reopened her eyes and looked down into the amethyst eyes gazing back at her.

"I go where the Sol emeralds go." She saw his face fall, even though he tried to hide it, the gleam disappearing from his eyes.

"So…" She continued. "If they're staying here, so am I." Once more she lowered her face towards his, this time certain that this was what she wanted.

"Blaze?" She pulled back and looked sternly down at Knuckles, who suddenly felt very small in her glare. He gulped. "A… are you sure thi-"

"Knuckles." Blaze interrupted. "Shut up."

She moved towards him, faster this time to deny any further interruptions. Closing her eyes the moment their lips touched, she let off an involuntary moan of pleasure. Blaze brought her hands up to rest on his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her closer.

Knuckles couldn't believe what was happening. Here he was, with a beautiful young woman in his arms, and they were kissing. Him! Perhaps the most socially awkward creature on the face of Mobius was kissing Princess Blaze the Cat. Him!

There would be questions for them both, heads would roll in the Royal courts of the Cat kingdom and they would come under much scrutiny concerning their relationship and their duty.

But as of this moment, nothing else mattered for either of the two Guardians, only each other.

As they lost themselves in their loving embrace, the dark clouds split, revealing a multitude of stars silently celebrating the love found beneath the treetops.

* * *

**Meh, there you go.**

**Not much but I'm quite pleased with it.**

**I was suprised to find that there wasn't many more of this coupling, but hey thats just me.**

**Anyway, this has been Corrupt TE. Later.**


End file.
